Interstitial floor considerations – Interstitial floors are
utilized above and below special-purpose lab configurations
such as biosafety labs (BSLs), where general access for maintenance or equipment installations are often restricted or
disruptive to the ongoing lab operations. The real sustainable
value to the installation of interstitial spaces can be questioned, since they add real and volumetric spaces, as well as
effective heating and cooling loads, to the overall building.

Lighting considerations and option selection – Increasingly LED lighting systems are installed to replace the higher
energy requirements of incandescent and fluorescent lighting
systems. When tied in with the fenestration designs noted
above, LED light systems can provide major sustainability
gains through reduced electrical energy requirements. The
actual level of lighting required within a lab space should
also be considered through conversations with users, lighting
specialists and equipment suppliers. The actual level and type
of lighting installed within a lab is often strongly dependent
upon the research performed within the lab—i.e., visual
inspection of samples requires higher lighting levels; fluorescent studies often require lower lighting levels. Sustainable
lighting systems shouldn’t compromise the actual research
being performed.

Lab module design – The design, spacing and configuration of these building blocks are tied to many aspects of the
research lab’s operation, not the least of which is sustainability. Lab flexibility, productivity, special-purpose operations,
maintenance, safety and other considerations are tied to the
final configurations of these systems that are mostly specific
for each facility.

MEP system configurations – Selection of the mechanical,
electrical and plumbing systems and supplies for the research
lab can be looked at from a sustainability viewpoint in terms
of the most efficient systems, the most efficient number of
systems installed per lab module and their actual required
safe and effective implementation.

Office-lab configurations – Productivity, safety and labflexibility are tied to this strong sustainability-based featureof the research lab. Again, these configurations are veryspecific to individual facility preferences. These configura-tions are often based upon the lab managers’ and research-ers’ personal preferences, although recent trends are to placethe offices in close proximity to the labs to provide greaterinteractions with the actual research. Safety and securityconsiderations must be considered in these situations toensure that potentially hazardous operations in the lab don’tcompromise the safety of the general office population. Theactual sustainability of these configurations can vary greatlybased upon the lighting configurations, effective ventilationrequirements and lab bench area requirements.

Sizing – Smaller is better from a sustainability standpoint (due
to lower energy requirements), but this must be tied to researcher preferences, overall workload and lab module designs. Floor
heights, the number of labs, the number of floors, the overall
gross and net area sizes and resulting floor plans can have significant differences in overall sustainability effects. Software-based
modeling systems can provide real benefits in estimating the
sustainable energy, lighting, materials and indoor environmental
quality values for several different configurations.

Ventilation and fume hood specifics – Traditional fume
hoods are the largest energy hogs in the research lab, consuming enough energy per fume hood to satisfy the individual
energy requirements of several residential houses. With the increasing acceptance of ductless fume hood systems (with their
substantially smaller energy requirements, 20% or less) and
the increasing number of suppliers and options, this has seen
some of the largest sustainability gains in the overall design
and planning phase of research labs. These systems are also
highly regarded for renovation projects where older ducted
fume hoods can be replaced, thereby reducing the operating
energy requirements. In labs where ducted fume hoods are still
required, sash control systems, occupancy sensors and low-flow fume hood systems can be implemented to substantially
reduce the overall operational energy requirements of the lab.

Heat-recovery systems – Variations in heat-recovery systems
for the overall heating and cooling systems for research labs include energy-recovery wheels, heat pipes and runaround loops.
Energy-recovery wheels, with sensible and latent heat recovery
were found to be cost effective in all climates according to I2SL
comparisons.